


Li'l Asskicker

by legolastariel



Series: Dad and Da'y [4]
Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Daryl/Judith fluff, Fear, Little girl lost, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-09
Updated: 2017-03-09
Packaged: 2018-09-30 22:45:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10174124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/legolastariel/pseuds/legolastariel
Summary: Judith loved the crossbow. There was no denying that fact and no explanation for it, either. She just did.As long as she could think back – which wasn’t actually too long for a six-year-old – she had always been extremely fascinated by it.There it was. Right in front of her, sitting on the coffee table in front of the couch.It was so beautiful and sitting there as though it was waiting just for her. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from it, while her feet were magically drawn nearer.Surely there was no harm in touching it real quick. She would be careful. There was nothing to it, right? Nobody would even know...But things don't go as planned, the crossbow breaks and little Judith runs and hides, afraid like every child when they did something wrong. The whole town is looking for her and especially Daryl has to deal with his worries for Li'l Asskicker as well as the dark memories all this evokes.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> **It's freefromthecocoon's birthday today and I know she totally loves the Daryl/Judith stories. So this one's for you, dear, and I hope you'll like it!!  
> **  
>  Happy Birthday!
> 
>  
> 
> Although it's part of a series it can totally be read alone. Details from the prequels may be mentioned, but they are explained, so you shouldn't have any problems catching on.
> 
> Thanks a bunch to my beta stylepoints, who did an excellent job once more not only in finding typos and having me delete a gazillion unnecessary commas LOL, but also by giving constructive criticism. Much obliged. :-)

** Li'l Asskicker **

  
Judith loved the crossbow. There was no denying that fact and no explanation for it, either. She just did. 

As long as she could think back – which wasn’t actually too long for a six-year-old – she had always been extremely fascinated by it. Its shape, the slender, elegant bolts and the way the intriguing looking mechanism was able to release them totally soundlessly.   
She didn’t like the loud bang of guns – it hurt her ears. What she also did not like was the way her dads used to tell her “No. No touching the crossbow”. That hurt her little _heart_ , because it was the gospel truth – Judith did love the crossbow. 

The only time she’d ever been allowed to hold it – sort of – was on her sixth birthday, when her da’y had offered to take her on a little hunting trip – sort of.   
She still remembered how her dad had almost choked on his piece of birthday cake, when da’y had offered to head into the woods with her that afternoon and let her try the crossbow.  
When it came to her being outside of the wall or touching any of the weapons, the scenario was always the same. Her dad would almost choke on something and cock his head in a way that apparantly meant more than that he had a crick in the neck, before telling da’y in an unusually deep voice:   
        “Outside. _Now_.”  
Da’y would _always_ reply “Ah, c’mon, Rick”, before the door falling close behind them would muffle the rest of the conversation. 

Why they even bothered discussing these matters was beyond little Judith, because the outcome was always the same, no matter how often Daryl had tried the “Ah, c’mon, Rick” approach.   
No weapons. No going on hunting trips. No being outside the wall _at all_. Those were the rules and no matter how often they took that discussion outside, when they came back in nothing had changed.

Save for that one day – her sixth birthday – when Rick had been willing to make an exception to mark the occasion. Her first hunting trip with da’y! Judith had been so excited and the memory of it still brought a wide smile to her face, although she would have expected it to be … _different._

She had hoped for them to head out into the woods a liiiittle further than they actually did. In fact, they had just headed into the first row of trees right behind the wall, when Daryl had declared this to be ‘far enough’. They had circled the entire town a few times and da’y had showed her how to walk real quietly, to watch out for dry branches that would crack if she stepped on them and to breathe silently in order not to scare off the game. But they hadn’t been lucky that day. No matter how silently they had sneaked through the woods … well, the first row of trees, there hadn’t been a single deer or squirrel there anywhere.   
Then again, maybe it wasn’t quiet enough with five people up on the wall constantly – her dad, Carl, Tara, Maggie and Glenn – keeping a watchful eye on the so-called hunting trip.   
Still, it had been immense fun and the _bestest_ birthday ever. Especially when she had been allowed – finally – to hold the crossbow with Daryl’s help and shoot one of the bolts, effectively hitting a poor misfortunate tree. 

Judith’s dads had probably hoped that her curiousity would be stilled after that. That the hypnotic effect that weapon seemed to have on her would be broken and she wasn’t drawn to it magically any longer. Good thought, but unfortunately entirely wrong. Now that she had tasted blood, so to speak, it was even worse. 

She did well that day, so da’y had said. With a little more practice she would be a good shot in time, so da’y had said. Maybe one of these days they should try to find her her own crossbow, so da’y had said.   
But she was still too young and a crossbow was a weapon after all, so _daddy_ had said. And what daddy said, went. Always. This seemed to be an unspoken rule between her two dads and sometimes Judith wondered why da’y even bothered to speak his mind, when it was daddy’s call in the end, no matter what he said. 

Judith’s lip came forward when she pouted in Daryl’s stead. 

It wasn’t fair. When it came to her and Carl, it was usually Carl who had his way, most times arguing that he was older and knew better. Fine. But then why did daddy get his way most times? He wasn’t older than Daryl and he wasn’t smarter, either.   
There were so many things about crossbows and hunting and tracking that daddy knew shit about … oops … that he didn’t know as much about as da’y did.   
So why was it that he still got to decide whether she was able to handle a crossbow or be outside of the wall at all? Wasn’t Daryl her father, too? Shouldn’t he have a say in this? Why did he always give in and let Rick decide? 

Judith’s pout increased. She didn’t like that he did. She didn’t think it was right. And maybe, if she could just _show_ her daddy that she was able to handle the crossbow, he would understand that he was wrong.

There it was. Right in front of her, sitting on the coffee table in front of the couch. 

It was still early in the morning, but she knew that Daryl and Rick had been up at the break of dawn. She had heard them outside of her bedroom. They had whispered to each other and there had been footsteps on the stairs as they had headed downstairs.  
Daryl was going to go on a hunting trip that day, so he had announced the night before, and Rick was seeing him off the way he always did. Sometimes she would hear the front door close shortly after when da’y left, other times dad and da’y apparently came to the conclusion that is was too early to be out there and that they were still very tired, because they would come back up and disappear back into the bedroom rather quickly and lock the door behind them, so that no one would disturb their sleep. 

Today was one of those days. About ten minutes ago Judith had heard her fathers come back up the stairs and disappear into their bedroom, which meant she did have time now. In very rare cases dad and da’y only took a short nap – usually they slept a good while longer, so when she had sneaked down the stairs she wasn’t in a hurry. 

It was so beautiful and sitting there on that table as though it was waiting just for her. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from it, while her feet were magically drawn nearer. 

Daryl had explained it to her. How the mechanism worked, although he wasn’t sure she understood this entirely, and about this crossbow having a good end and a bad end. He had told her to make sure to always be at the good end – when picking it up as well as when it was being aimed. And to make sure that everyone being at the bad end understood that things didn’t look too bright for them.   
It was an elegant and silent weapon, but it meant business and wasn’t to be underestimated, so he had said. And it wasn’t a toy, so she was never to touch it without him or Rick being around.

What did ‘being around’ mean? They were in the same house. Was that ‘being around’ enough? Surely there was no harm in touching it real quick. She would be careful and make sure to stay at the good end. There was nothing to it, right? Nobody would even know.

Holding her breath, she approached the table like someone would approach a wild animal – slowly, carefully, quietly. She didn’t give it any thought that a _wild animal_ could be a harmless rabbit, waiting to be caught and become dinner or a deadly predator ready to harm or even kill her.   
Judith’s little hand was shaking slightly when she reached out and let her fingers run gently over the surface of the crossbow.   
It felt cool and smooth to her touch and her skin tickled of excitement. This must have been the best moment of her entire life – having the crossbow this close and all to herself sure was even better than ten pounds of chocolate.   
She had no idea what ten pounds of chocalate looked like, but they couldn’t possibly be half as pretty and tempting as the crossbow.  
Judith listened into the stillness of the house. There weren’t any doors opening or footsteps and no sounds from outside as well. Nobody saw her touch the crossbow and no one was likely to walk in any second now, so it should be safe to pick it up real quick, right? Not for long. She was gonna put it right back down, so no harm would be done.   
Da’y said she did well the other day and he showed her how to hold it correctly, so just picking it up for a moment shouldn’t be a problem.

She couldn’t resist. Just once she had to hold it all by herself. The next second her small hands clutched Daryl’s weapon tightly and with a determined air on her little face the girl picked the crossbow up.   
She gasped. When da’y had helped her the other day, it had been much lighter than it was now that she had to handle its weight all by herself. Judith had no idea how heavy a crossbow really was, but feeling it now, she came to understand why Daryl’s arms were as muscular as they were. It was heavy. Gosh, it was so heavy! Too heavy. 

The next moment it dropped from her hands and hit the edge of the coffee table with a loud thud. Something cracked and broke, before the entire weapon bounced off the table and dropped onto the floor. One of the bolts came loose and darted through the air, forcefully hitting an object that was sitting on the mantlepiece and sending it flying. 

With a shriek Judith crouched down and covered her head, while she watched in horror how Daryl’s precious crossbow hit the ground, as well as one of the beloved and treasured white mugs Rick had given to him once. Like in slow motion she saw it fall and break into a dozen pieces with a painfully clinking sound.  
Then it was quiet.   
She stared at the crossbow and the remains of the mug with her mouth gapped open in a silent scream and her eyes widened fearfully.

What had she done? There was a large dent in the table where the weapon had hit it and through the tears that were suddenly pooling in her eyes, she thought she saw broken pieces lying around the crossbow. What may have been even worse was that she broke one of the mugs her da’y loved so much. It was the one that read _‘Daryl’._   
Her daddy had given those mugs to Daryl the day they had become a couple, a family. They were a symbol of the four of them belonging together and it was Rick’s present to the man he loved to let him know that this house was their home now, that he and Carl and Judith were going to live there with Daryl, if he wanted them, so he would never be alone again.   
The archer had cried back then when getting them, because they were probably the most precious thing anyone had ever given to him. In fact, they were the first present he had ever gotten in all his life.   
When he was going to find one of them broken, he would probably cry again and she, Judith, was responsible for all this. 

She didn’t listen. She touched the crossbow although it was forbidden. She broke da’y things – two of the things he valued most in this world – and he would be so angry and sad when he found out. 

        “What’s going on down there?” Rick’s voices sounded from the upper floor and had Judith freeze.

They had heard the noise! They were gonna come down any second now and see what she had done. 

        “Carl? Is that you?”

She started to shake and tears ran down her cheeks. 

There was no way she was able to explain or justify what happened. It was obvious. She didn’t listen, simple as that.    
She was a bad girl and they would hate her for this. Her da’y would. Maybe he would never want to talk to her again. He would never take her on another hunting trip or let her ride on the bike around the pond, like he’d done the other day. He wasn’t gonna play with her again, read her bedtime stories, hum her a lullaby or let her ride piggy-back. Da’y wouldn’t hug and kiss her no more, because he wouldn’t love her no more. How could he, after what she’d done?

        “Daryl, there’s something going on down there.”

        “Damn, got ma crossbow in the livin’ room.”

        “I’ll check it out. Make sure Judith stays in her room.”

        “Ya got it.”

With a violently pounding heart little Judith heard her fathers’ voices and her rising panic almost choked her.   
Rick was on his way down here! He would find her. He would see what she’d done and he would tell Daryl. They would both be angry and disappointed with her.   
Didn’t daddy tell da’y all the time that she was too young to handle the crossbow? Didn’t they even have arguments because of that? Was daddy going to be angry with da’y, too, telling him that he shouldn’t have left the crossbow on the table like that? Maybe daddy would even send da’y away, because he _‘wasn’t_ _good for the children’_ , the way Mrs. Miller from across town had said to her husband the other day before kicking him out. 

Judith cried in earnest now. Da’y would go away and he would blame her for that, too. She not only broke his things, but destroyed their family. Everybody would be angry with her, even Carl. They would blame her and they’d be right – it was all her fault. 

There were footsteps on the stairs now and Judith looked around herself frantically, hoping for a way out of this.   
If she had time, she could try to fix the crossbow and the mug, but there _was_ no time. And she couldn’t just hide everything and pretend not to know where Daryl’s things were. They wouldn’t believe it and sooner or later they’d find out and realize that on top of it all, she had lied to them.   
But if she wasn’t even here, they couldn’t prove that she did this. They couldn’t blame her, if they didn’t see her with this mess. The doors weren’t locked – anybody could have come in here and do this. And if she wasn’t to be held responsible, they couldn’t be angry with her and daddy couldn’t be angry with da’y and then da’y wouldn’t go away. Everything would be alright.  
The little girl looked at the mess she had made, while the footsteps on the stairs had almost reached the bottom. She sobbed helplessly.   
No, nothing would be alright. Never again. The mug and the crossbow were broken and even if they were able to mend them, they would never be the same again. And it wouldn’t change the fact that she caused this.

Wiping over her eyes with the back of her hand, Judith hurried to the glass door that led from the living room out into the backyard. Soundlessly she slipped outside and disappeared into the green wilderness the moment Rick entered the room with his Python cautiously raised. 

 

He gasped when his eyes fell onto the chaos in front of the fireplace, right before he noticed the glass door standing ajar. To be on the safe side he looked around the room for a possible intruder, but he didn’t really expect to find anyone.   
He had been a cop long enough and his instincts on the ‘scene of a crime’ were excellent – he had a suspicion as to what may have happened here and found it clearly proven when Daryl showed up in the doorway, going:

        “Judy ain’t in her room. Couldn’t find her anywhere upstairs.” 

His eyes widened the next second. 

        “The hell …”

The archer walked over to the fireplace and took a closer look at the scene of destruction, before crouching down and carefully picking up a shard of the broken mug. 

        “Damn.”

There was a pained expression on his face while he let his thumb almost tenderly run over the smooth ceramic surface.    
It was just a mug, sure. Just a simple white mug with a name scribbled onto it, but still … There was a meaning to these mugs. A message. They were special. They had marked the start of something beautiful and precious – and now one of them was broken. Daryl couldn’t help feeling like this was a bad omen. 

The next moment he noticed the bolt that had shot the mug off of the mantlepiece and his eyes darted over to the crossbow that lay on the ground next to the coffee table. 

        “Ma crossbow! Man, what the hell happened …”

        “Judith”, Rick said sternly, while he holstered the Python and walked over to where Daryl was crouching. 

With a frown the archer got back up and cast him a glance.

        “Makes ya think she did this?”

        “She’s not in her room.”

        “Neither is Carl”, Daryl said matter-of-factly.

The revelation that their son had spent the night somewhere else didn’t even come as a surprise to Rick.  
This wasn’t the first time and it wouldn’t be the last. Carl and Enid had been going steady for quite a while now and although it pained Rick at times that his little boy wasn’t quite as little anymore, he knew he had to accept the fact that children dared grow up on their parents eventually.   
But Judith was six years old.

        “ _Judy’s_ not 18, Daryl. She should be in her room this early in the morning.”

He noticed a reaction in the archer’s eyes and had to suppress a smirk despite the serious situation.   
He knew exactly what Daryl had been thinking in right that moment. That being 18 did not mean Judith would have _any_ excuse whatsoever to _not_ be in her room at night. Starting puberty Daryl would probably bar her window and stand sentry in front of her bedroom door at night.  
Rick suppressed a chuckle.  
He felt sorry already now for any suitor who would one day dare come eye to eye with Judith’s _da’y_. Maybe he had best put up warning signs in the front yard in time.   
        ‘ _Beware of overprotective and jealous father. Enter at own risk.’_

Daryl’s voice derailed Rick’s train of thought.  
         
        “Anyone coulda come in here. Ya got no proof that Jude did this.”

        “True”, Rick sighed at Daryl’s persistance to deny the obvious, “but why the heck would _anyone_ come in here, use your crossbow to shoot a mug and then leave again?” 

The older man cast him a scowl. The sarcasm in Rick’s inflection hadn’t gone unnoticed. 

        “People do stupid things”, he said sternly. “Like call ‘emselves Jesus or waste time backin’ cookies in a fuckin’ zombie apocalypse, have babies or … or marry a Dixon.” 

A smile tugged at the corners of Rick’s mouth.

        “Didn’t hear any stupid things there just now. Except the Jesus calling.”

They both had to laugh at that, before sobering up again. 

        “You know how much Judith loves your crossbow. It was her, Daryl. She probably just meant to pick it up for a moment and the rest was an accident.”

Worry darkened his eyes suddenly when he followed that train of thought further. He paled visibly.

        “God, she could have shot herself with that thing.” 

Daryl pressed his lips together till they were a thin line. 

        “I shouldn’t ‘a left it here. ‘Twas ma fault. _Our_ fault. We have ta be more careful, Rick. She ain’t a baby no more who stays in the crip after ya put her there.” 

A frown flashed over Rick’s features.

        “What’s that supposed to mean?”

        “I ‘s on ma way out the door, but ya wouldn’t lemme.”

        “Oh, so that we ended up in bed was entirely my fault? That what you’re saying?”

His voice had picked up.

        “Man, no, what I’m sayin’ ‘s that if ya hadn’t distracted me, I wouldn’t ‘a left the crossbow …”

        “I _told_ you more than once to have an eye on that thing. You know that Judith is drawn to it like a moth to the flame.”

        “Ya know that just the same, for fuck’s sake. Didn’t see _you_ have yer eye on anythin’ other than ma dick though.”  

Their voices had picked up considerably, but it was guilt, shame and worry rather than anger that fueled this argument.   
Daryl had almost been out of the door that morning, when Rick had showed up in the doorway to the family room to see him off. It was a ritual. He always did that and today was no exception. Maybe because he was somewhat superstitious as far as rituals were concerned, considered it bad luck to break a habit and in a dangerous world as this a kiss good-bye may just as well have been the last. So he was there, every time Daryl left on his hunting trips. A bonus to this ritual was watching the archer checking his weapon – his arm muscles flexing when he cocked the string, his fingers running over the long, slender shafts of the bolts to see if they were intact and the way he _coincidentally_ always seemed to stand with his back to Rick, so his husband _happened_ to have a good view of his backside when he bent over to check the mechanism. 

Some days it would end with them kissing ardently and hugging each other tight, before Daryl headed out into the woods. Other days it wouldn’t stop there and they  ended up upstairs in bed, postponing the hunting trip in their own special way. Today was one of the _other days_. 

Was it careless to leave a loaded and cocked crossbow sitting on the table? No doubt it was. Was it careless to hug the archer from behind and plant kisses on his neck, nibble his earlobe and press against him clearly aroused while he was loading the crossbow? Absolutely. Was it careless to place the weapon onto the table _just for a moment_ to respond and then completely forget about it when hormons took over and there was not enough blood left in either brain to still mind anything else but each other? Positive. Was there any other fact to blame than the one that they were men in their prime, whose priorities sometimes didn’t make it above their waistline? Maybe.

Accusations were senseless and unnecessary though – they both knew that usually Daryl was extremely careful with his weapon around the children and blaming him for this mishap, especially when Rick had clearly had his part in it, was simply unfair. They had both made a mistake, they were both to blame all the same, but knowing so didn’t help the matter. What happened, happened.

Deep down inside they both knew that, but in right that moment the initial shock about what _could_ have happened had their fear boil up and say things that would have been better left unspoken.

Their angry voices sounded through the ajar door out into the yard and had little Judith duck deeper into her hiding place, covering her ears and sobbing desperately.   
The end, it had already started. 

 

The two men stood in front of each other with blazing eyes, panting heavily while they tried to compose themselves.   
They had had arguments before. Heated ones. Serious ones. And sometimes those fights had even escalated and fists had been flying, but those had been the old days. The days when they were no more than members of the same group, maybe allies, not even necessarily friends. Days when being a happily married couple had been the furthest thing from their mind.  
They weren’t going to go back to those days. And this argument wasn’t even about cause and effect, about whose fault this was. It was not even a _real_ argument. It was the release of fear, no more, no less. Fear for a little girl they both loved too much to be able to control the adrenalin that was pumping through their veins just now. 

        “ ‘m sorry”, Daryl croak out after pulling in another deep breath. “ ‘m scared, ‘s all.  Ain’t blamin’ ya.”

The next second he was pulled into a tight embrace and wasn’t even surprised when he felt a tremble run through the slim body in his arms.

        “Same here. I shouldn’t have said what I said. None of it.”

Daryl pulled back and looked his husband firmly in the eyes.

        “Forget it. Ain’t important. We have ta find her.” He nodded at the mess the little girl had left. “We ain’t the only ones who ‘s scared.”

Rick nodded and after pecking the archer’s lips, released him.

        “I’ll go check next door at the Clutterbucks’. Maybe she turned up there or they’ve seen anything.”

        “’m gonna head over ta the gate.”

Rick froze and his eyes widened in shock.

        “The gate? You don’t seriously think she would have gone out there all by herself, do you?”

        “Rick …” Daryl swallowed thickly against a lump in his throat. “I hope, she ain’t _that_ scared, but I remember … when I ‘s little and something like this happened … I used ta run as far away as I could. Least for a while, till ma ol’ man had let off steam. Sometimes I came back too early. Sometimes I didn’t make it out in time …”

Rick saw the other man’s jaw muscles clench and reached out to place his hand soothingly on Daryl’s shoulder, while shaking his head.

        “Things are not like that for her. She’s got no reason to …”

        “She saw the scars. And she asked me about ‘em the other day. Figured she had a right ta know, so I told her ma dad did this to me when he thought I ‘s bad. Or ‘cause he just didn’t like me too much.”    
Pain distorted Daryl’s features.   
        “I don’t know what’s goin’ on in her li’l mind right now, but I bet she figures ‘twas bad what she did and that I ‘s gonna be angry when I find out. And she knows now that I grew up in a family where ‘twas okay ta hurt a kid. Maybe she figured ‘s safer out there than in here.”

Rick’s mouth was parched all of a sudden and his eyes widened.

        “She wouldn’t think _you_ were going to harm her, Daryl!”

The archer shrugged helplessly.

        “She ain’t here, right?”    



	2. Chapter 2

Half an hour later Rick hurried toward the gate.   
He had been over to the neighbors’ house to ask old James and Ethel Clutterbuck if they had seen his daughter. Ethel had shook her head with a regretting air on her wrinkled face and had offered to help look for Judith, if they needed her, while James had simply smiled and asked Rick to bring in the Sunday paper next time he called.   
Things were getting worse with good old James and sometimes Rick almost envied the old man. He didn’t know there was a zombie apocalypse. He didn’t know about the dead walking and the living being even more of a threat than they had been in the old days. He wasn’t aware of short food supplies and diseases there was no cure for anymore, due to lack of medicine. To him it was always Sunday and nothing could possibly bring any clouds to his sky, save for the Sunday paper not being there on time.   
After the Clutterbucks, Rick had seen everybody living in their street, but no one had seen Judith. 

When he approached the gate he saw Daryl up on the wall with a binocular, scanning the area.

        “Anything?” Rick called to him, but before the archer could answer he heard Eugene’s voice to his right, going:

        “I personally excluded the possibiliy of anybody having left these perimeters without my knowledge, so him being up there and repeatedly observing the surroundings is highly unreasonable.”

        “Shut it!” Daryl cut him short while casting him a scowl. 

        “Since neither the loss of the missing person in question, nor the fact that she wasn’t found yet is in any way my responsibilty, I don’t see why it’s necessary to be so rude.”  

The archer slid down the ladder rather quickly and stood uncomfortably close in front of Eugene the next moment.   
         
        “Which part a’ ‘shut it’ ya ain’t gettin’, smart ass?”

        “Daryl.” 

Rick’s hand on his shoulder had his anger subside and he cast Eugene an apologetic glance. 

        “Sorry, man. Didn’t mean ta snap at ya like that.”

        “I can assure you that there will be no hard feelings and I have full comprehension of the extent of your …”

        “Shut it”, Daryl commented dryly, before turning to Rick. “She ain’t out there. The gate is too heavy and the handle too high for her ta open it and Eugene swears no one left.”

Rick nodded, but the lines of worry on his face didn’t subside.

        “Still, we oughta check the entire wall, just to be on the safe side. She’s small. If there’s but the tiniest gap, a hole, anything …”

        “Yer right. – But we’re gonna need help.”

When they turned around on their heels, they weren’t even surprised to see a dozen people standing about fifteen feet away from them – too far away to be accused of eavesdropping, but close enough to not miss a thing.   
The wall was high and this town was as well protected as only possible. For those who never left at all, it was the safest and most boring place in this walker infested world. So new couples forming, people getting divorced, a girl being pregnant or a child gone missing were the highlights of their dull lives and gossip used to spread like wildfire.   
         
        “Whadda ya know – the vultures are circlin’ already. ‘em talkin’ drums sure work fast.”

Rick’s features darkened visibly, but for once the chatterboxes may have done them a favor.

        “Hey!” The leader walked over to the group with large, energetic strides. “Since you all apparently got nothing to do, here’s work for you. Tobin, I want you to have Gabriel ring the bell and gather everyone at the church _now._ This is an emergency meeting and I want everybody there ASAP. Got it?”

With the way Tobin was staring at Rick Daryl almost expected him to salute and answer “Yes, Sir!” any moment now, which had the archer suppress a grin despite the nagging worry inside of him.   
He knew that there were people wondering why Rick ever became the leader of the _Atlanta group_ , as they were still being referred to by some of the original Alexandrians, and what ever made him suitable to lead an entire town these days. And then there were moments like this one, when Rick just _showed_ them why. 

Ten minutes later everyone, save for the sentries on duty, were gathered at the church, expectantly looking at Rick who was standing before them as so many times before. 

        “I don’t think there’s reason for me to fill you people in. Word is probably around by now that my … _our_ daughter”, he corrected with a sideglance to Daryl, “is missing.”

        “What?!”

Both Rick and Daryl looked up, surprised to hear several of their own people apparently not being informed yet. 

        “Judy is missing?” Carl asked, sounding hurt by the fact that his fathers hadn’t bothered to tell him. 

Actually, they hadn’t officially _informed_ anybody yet. All they had done was asked the neighbors in their street if they had seen Judith, before checking the gate. They hadn’t even thought about telling their group. Fact was, all of their thoughts were with Judith and how she must have been feeling at this moment. Nothing else mattered.

        “Look”, Rick tried to smooth ruffled feelings. “We didn’t have the time to tell anybody yet, which is why you’re all here. Something happened this morning that upset her and she’s probably hiding somewhere in Alexandria. She didn’t leave through the gate, so chances of her being out there are slim to none, but we need to be sure. So I want all the men to go on wall patrol right now. Check every inch of it and look for loose parts, gaps and holes that a six-year-old could slip through. Checking the wall was on the schedule anyway, so today’s as good a day as any.   
And I want the ladies to check each and every house from top to bottom. Every attic, basement, closet, underneath the porches, inside the garages and garden sheds – _everywhere.”_

Rick fell quiet and waited. Any second now, dollars to donuts, one of the Alexandrians would start complaining that this was one hell of a commotion, just because a child was playing hide and seek. After all, she was only missing for about two hours and was inside of Alexandria, what could possibly happen?  
None of this was what they were really thinking though. Deep down inside a lot of the Alexandrians had never forgotten how the _Atlanta group_ had showed up in their town and had turned things upside down. And although all that was long water under the bridge, it would probably always be a stigma they couldn’t shed. And Judith was one of _the group._  
The question clearly ran: Would all this be done, too, if one of the other children went missing?    
After what felt like an eternity Rick dared breathe again and in awe he looked into the faces of the people before him. The question hadn’t come. And he didn’t even see it in any eyes.   
Apparantly things had changed. Judith had changed them. She was a child of both worlds – the one out there and the one in here. She may be part of Rick’s group, but she had grown up in this town and everybody loved the little curly-haired whirlwind. There would be no questions asked when it came to her safety. 

        “Alright everybody, let’s go”, Abraham’s voice sounded through the church the next moment when the tall red-haired man stood and gestured to the men sitting closest to him.  
        “You guys are with me. We start over at the west side and move clock-wise. Tobin, grab the rest and go into the opposite direction.”  
He looked over to Rick.  
        “As soon as the two groups meet and we know for sure, I’ll inform you.” 

Rick gave him a thankful nod.

        “Thanks.”

        “Alright, ladies”, Rosita cut in. “Vamanos. Everybody go home and search your houses. I’m gonna be at the playground making a list and I expect you to report back to me as soon as you’re done with a place, so we’re not missing any and know when we’ve checked them all.”

Five minutes later the church was empty, save for Rick, Daryl and Carl. The leader ran a hand through his curls and sighed.

        “Are we overreacting?” 

        “Nah”, Daryl replied, “I know how she feels. The longer she’s out there, the worse it’s gonna get.”

        “What’s ‘it’?” Carl asked with a frown.

        “The fear.” 

 

With an idle glance Daryl stared ahead of himself as his memories pulled him into the past, took him back to the days when he was Judith’s age, alone and lost in a world that was far more confusing and frightening than the apocalypse was these days.  
The world was terra incognita for a child and it wasn’t just exciting and thrilling and a place full of adventures, but also scary and threatening. There should have been a safe haven for every child, a place to run to where there were people who cared, protected and guided. Usually that place was called _home._  
In Daryl’s case _home_ was the place he ran _from,_ not to. There was no one there who protected him from the dangers and threats of the world out there, because no one cared if he was scared, if he got hurt, if he lived another day.   
Other children were scared of the boogie man or monsters in their closets. In Daryl’s case the boogie man was called _dad_ and he was lurking in the place that should have meant safety.   
There hadn’t _been_ any safety anywhere for him, never. Whether he was out there or at his father’s house – he was exposed to danger at any time of the day, for years and years.   
Sometimes Merle had been there. Merle. His older brother, who never grew tired of taunting him, playing tricks on him, using him and getting him in trouble. And yet, despite it all Merle had been the only shield, the only protection Daryl had ever known. Each time the shit would hit the fan and their old man was looking for a punching bag, Merle had made sure to be target No. 1. No matter what had caused Will Dixon to blow a fuse, as long as Merle was there he would take the blame, and the beating, for it.  
Merle had been the most stubborn and toughest asshole Daryl had ever met, as he used to say, and it was true. The older brother would take whatever their father was delivering and he would even sneer, not giving a damn that his attitude was enraging Will Dixon even more. He wasn’t going to show fear or pain or submissiveness, ever. Defiance was the magic word, was what the ‘D’ in his initials stood for till the day Merle Dixon died.  
But Merle hadn’t always been there. There had been many times, too many times, when little Daryl didn’t know where to run, where to hide, whom to turn to for help.   
When he had drawn Will’s attention and fury to him, simply because he had dared speak or breathe or just _be there_ , the choice was either running into the woods and staying out there even in the dark, cold or rain, or taking the beating and spending the rest of the day hiding in the closet of his room, hungry and hurting and afraid that _dad_ would do it again, just because he could. 

 

Daryl swallowed thickly against the lump in his throat. It was just a crossbow, just a mug. And although next to the bike those were his most precious belongings, there wasn’t a _thing_ in the world meaningful enough to ever have him beat his children.   
Did Judith really not know that? Was she hiding or maybe even running away, because she was scared of punishment? Where did he go wrong? What had he ever done or said to make his little girl be afraid of him?  
Will Dixon had made sure his sons learned what pain was, but nothing his father had ever done hurt Daryl half as much as the thought right now that Judith may be scared of her home, of her family, of _him._

        “Fear of what?” Carl’s voice pulled Daryl back into the here and now. “What happened?”    
         
Rick filled the boy in on what happened that morning and a moment later both men were met by wide blue teenage eyes. 

        “That’s it?”

Rick frowned.

        “Whadda you mean ‘that’s it’? Your sister’s missing and …”

        “Dad! She’s been gone for like two hours and there aren’t really too many places she could be. Remember when I broke that expensive bottle of cologne mom gave to you for your birthday? The one I secretly tried, because I wanted to smell good and like a man to impress Betty Hanson in 5th grade?”

Rick couldn’t help smiling on remembering the incident.

        “I remember. You almost bathed in that stuff and smelled like a beauty shop for about a week. I never asked you if it worked at all.”

He suppressed a smirk.

        “It worked alright. Betty Hanson chose to sit as far away from me in class as possible, because I stank to high heaven.” Carl pulled a face, when he saw the features of both of his fathers derail in the attempt not to laugh.   
        “Thing is, I did hide in the basement for the better part of an afternoon back then. Remember? I was ashamed, I had messed up and I knew there would be consequences like no TV or crap like that, but I wasn’t scared of you or mom or thinking about leaving the country as quickly as possible. And you didn’t turn Atlanta upside down to find me, either. Eventually I came back out when it got too boring and I was hungry. We had a little discussion about respecting other people’s property and that was that.”  
He raised his eyebrows and made a wide sweaping gesture.  
        “So? What’s the story here now?”

Again Rick ran a hand through his curls and breathed in deep.

        “We _are_ overreacting, huh?”

        “You can say that again”, Carl commented dryly. 

        “So what?” Daryl grumbled. “Wall needed ta be inspected anyway and this’ll keep ‘em folks out there busy for a while. Playin’ a li’l hide and seek is gonna keep ‘em from snoopin’ around in other people’s business and being a bunch a fuckin’ gossips.”

Another smile played around Rick’s lips.

        “I see you’ve really come to appreciate the people of this town by now”, he teased. 

        “Don’t get me started”, Daryl growled. “ ’m gonna head back home and wait there in case Asskicker’s gonna turn up.” 

Without waiting for a reply he turned on his heels and headed in the direction of his family’s house. 

        “Is he okay?” Carl asked with a frown, while he watched the archer walk away. 

        “I’m not sure, truth to be told. This seems to reopen old wounds and he’s a little bit on edge there.”

        “Why? I don’t get it. It’s not that big of a deal really and …”

        “You know how he grew up, Carl. And he wanted to do better so badly. Wanted to do right by you and Judith, always, no matter what.”

        “He did!”

        “I know. And still Judy ran and is hiding as though she was afraid of his reaction, afraid of _him_ , and that seems to hurt him profoundly. You’re probably right – inside these walls nothing could possibly happen to Judith and eventually she’ll come back by herself. Truth is, I’m not having the entire town searched for _her_ sake, but for Daryl’s. The sooner this is settled, the better.” 

Carl looked his father in the eyes thoughtfully and nodded. 

        “I get it. I’m gonna help Enid check the guard tower.”

        “Carl …” Rick lifted one eyebrow and looked at his son in a way that prompted the teenager’s best eye-roll.

        “Dad! I said we were gonna _check the guard tower_.”

        “Uh-huh. I heard you the first time. Tell you what – stick to the plan. The guys check the wall, the ladies the buildings. Okay? You can go _check the guard tower_ with Enid later.”

That said Rick turned on his heels and headed in the direction of Abraham’s group to participate in their task, leaving a flabbergasted teenager behind who was staring at his back with his mouth gapped open. 

 

In her secret hiding place little Judith wiped her snotty nose on the sleeve of her PJ shirt and suppressed another sob.   
It had been a couple of hours since she ran and hid in here and by now Daryl had probably found his damaged crossbow and the broken mug. He knew. Daddy knew, too. And maybe even Carl. But they didn’t have a clue what exactly happened.  
        While she had been sitting in the twilight of this place for quite a while now, Judith had had lots of time to ponder on what to do next. She was only six, but she wasn’t dumb and had witnessed often enough that the words “You don’t have any proof” usually meant a person had to be considered innocent. 

Like the other day, when Tommy Miller had sneered in Carol’s face after stealing some of her freshly baked cookies. He was right, she didn’t actually _see_ him take them, but he’d been the only person even close to the front porch where she had left the tray for the cookies to cool off. Still, no proof, no punishment.   
Theoretically. After playing barefoot in the soft sand of the playground that afternoon, Tommy Miller had ended up flat on his face when he had put his shoes back on and tried to run while the shoelaces were tied together. A mysterious incident and one would assume that Carol Peletier sitting on a bench right next to those shoes for a while earlier might have had something to do with it. _But,_ no proof, no punishment. 

Judith had considered going back home and saying that she’d been playing outside these past hours and wouldn’t know what happened to the crossbow and mug, since she hadn’t even been home. A nice story actually, which may have worked, _if_ she wasn’t still in her PJs. They wouldn’t buy it. 

Running was the first impulse and seemed like a good idea at the time, but in fact it had made matters even worse. It was only postponing the inevitable. Sooner or later she would have to face da’y and after what she had done already, she couldn’t lie to him on top of it. 

She wasn’t afraid of punishment. Daddy and da’y, they were the nicest, most caring, gentle and loving fathers in the whole wide world, there was no doubt on Judith’s mind. Neither had ever so much as yelled at her, let alone hit her. And they wouldn’t do a thing like that today, either.   
This wasn’t why she ran. This wasn’t why she was hiding. She almost wished it was, because da’y yelling at her or giving her a slap on her backside would probably not hurt half as much as what he was likely to do. 

Judith remembered an incident a while back, when she had been playing in the backyard.   
The cherry laurel bushes behind the garage had grown huge over the years and had formed a perfect green cave for little girls to hide in, sit under the shady leaves on a hot summer day and use one of the kitchen knives to try and turn a rather crooked branch into a new bolt for da’y’s crossbow.  
Nobody knew about her secret hideout and so Carl hadn’t had a clue that she was there, watching him with a suppressed giggle. He had showed up behind the garage with one of Daryl’s cigarettes, taken a couple of cautious glances around and, when he was sure to be alone, had lit it with a victorious sparkle in his eye.   
Judith had heard Daryl comment often enough that Carl would be allowed to smoke the day hell froze over, so him smoking was not only forbidden, but that cigarette had been stolen on top of it.   
Carl had manage about three drags when Daryl had soundlessly materialized right behind him. Totally taken by surprise the teenager had gasped audibly, which had him accidentally inhale too deeply and cough violently the next moment. 

        “Do you have to sneak up on me like that?” Carl had snapped, figuring that offense was the best defense.

        “ ‘s fuckin’ 100 degrees out here and the grass and brush ‘s dry as a bone. Ya wanna set the entire town on fire?”

        “I’m being careful.”

        “Huh. Where’d ya get that smoke?” 

        “Found a pack on a run”, Carl lied, looking Daryl in the eyes defiantly. 

So he had hoped, but the way his ears had turned a deeper shade of pink gave him away.

        “That so? Lemme have it.”

        “Why? No. It’s mine.”

        “’kay, fair enough. Still, I wanna see it.”

In every argument, in every dishing out of fat lies there was the moment the person telling those lies came to a crossroads and had to make a decision. Either pull this through and go on lying, hoping to be able to get out of this without making a complete spectacle of themselves and losing face entirely. Or to stop. Give in and just tell the truth.   
When Daryl had asked Carl to show him the pack of smokes the crossroads had been reached, and Carl knew it. This would have been the moment to just admit to lying and apologize. But he was a teenager and he’d been cornered by a parent and a 17-year-old boy giving in without at least trying to squirm his way out of a situation like that was a thing unheard of.

        “I don’t have it here.”

        “I’ll wait. Go get it.”

This hadn’t been about smoking. Although Daryl considered it his job to prevent the kids from starting that vice, he knew it was kind of ironic.   
In a world like this it was more likely for walkers or the living scum out there to shorten people’s lives, not a smoke now and then.   
What had made him furious was the fact that Carl had been in his things and had stolen from him. Again. Technically this had been the second time, after he had taken Daryl’s gun back at Hershel’s farm years ago.   
Carl had only been a young boy back then and may not have known any better. Now he was almost a man and sure as hell knew exactly what he was doing.   
He hadn’t respected Daryl’s property, hadn’t trusted him enough to just _ask_ and had chosen to disobey instead. And on top of all that he’d been lying to Daryl’s face, apparently not even in least ashamed of any of this.

        “Don’t want to”, Carl had answered stubbornly, knowing only too well that he’d missed the chance on walking away from this with his head held high.

        “Carl …”

        “You know what, Daryl”, the boy had angrily shouted the next second, “you ain’t got the right to tell me to do _anything,_ so why don’t you leave me the hell alone and get lost? You’re not my father!” 

That said, Carl had dropped the cigarette in front of Daryl’s feet and stomped off, leaving behind a speechless archer, who had felt as though someone just punched him in the guts. 

Judith would never forget the shocked and hurt expression on da’y’s face and the pained look in his eyes that she could even see over the distance. 

_ This  _ was what she was afraid of. To look into da’y’s eyes and see nothing but disappointment and hurt.

Anger went as quickly as it came. It was just for the moment, a short raging fire that would die down soon enough.  
But disappointment ran deeper, spread, lasted and grew like a cancer. People were likely to forget the reason why they were angry with someone. It happened often, over minor things as well as bigger ones, but it passed, evaporated, was no more than a foul aftertaste as soon as things were settled and forgiven.   
But the reason for a major disappointment and grief of the kind Carl had caused back then, were unlikely to ever be forgotten.   
Daryl had long since forgiven Judith’s brother. Probably because not even an hour after the incident had happened Carl had apologized almost in tears, ashamed and upset about his own words. There were no hard feelings, but Daryl would not forget. 

Words like Carl’s rarely ever came out of thin air. There was always some truth to them – a thought, a feeling that lay buried deep down inside, waiting to surface in heated situations and do the utmost damage.   
Daryl knew that Carl loved and respected him and did accept him as a second father, _but_ … The _but_ would stand between them now for the rest of their days.

 

Judith didn’t want for anything to stand between her and da’y.   
The other day in the playground she had heard one of the mommies there assure one of her four children that no, she did not like the others more, that she, of course, loved them all the same. And maybe that was even true.   
Still, Judy couldn’t help the feeling that Rick had always favored Carl. Just that slightly little bit. Maybe because he was a boy. Maybe because he had had him longer. Maybe because Carl was a good shot and could go on runs and be helpful, while she … Well, there wasn’t much she could really do to help her daddy with anything yet.  
Daryl on the other hand … Daryl was totally doted on her and seemed to love nothing more in this world than his curly-haired little sunshine, his Li’l Asskicker. Which was why Judith in return loved her da’y just that tiny itsy bitsy bit more than her daddy. 

Big tears pooled in the girl’s blue eyes once again. He would be so hurt when he found out that she took the crossbow and broke it, although he had told her more than once not to touch it.   
How could she be as much of a disappointment to Daryl as Carl had been behind the garage back then? How could she go back there and admit it was her fault? How could she go back there _at all_? If da’y never found out, he couldn’t stop loving her, so maybe she had best try and leave Alexandria altogether. Da’y would probably miss her, just like daddy and Carl, but at least they would still love her just like before and not be disappointed. They couldn’t find out.  
Tonight when it was dark she would leave. She had watched Enid climb the wall often enough and knew how she did it. Maybe she could do, too. She just had to hide and wait a little longer. She was a big girl. After all, she was _six_ years old already and da’y had taught her how to walk silently and become invisible out there. Da’y … She would miss him so much.

The tears started to fall again as little Judith curled in on herself and gave in to her grief.  

 

        “Nothing.” Abraham pulled a cigar out of his pocket and lit it with a stern expression while wiping the sweat from his brow. “We’ve checked the entire fucking wall twice, Rick, and there’s no chance she could have slipped through anywhere. There’s no holes or gaps or loose parts.”

Rick nodded his understanding and sighed deeply. 

        “Thanks. Good job. At least we’ve got the wall thoroughly checked and know for sure she’s still in Alexandria somewhere.”

He was just about to suggest for the men to give the ladies a hand in searching the houses, when he saw Rosita walk towards them with the list she’s made in her hand.

        “So far no luck”, she said with a regretful air on reaching them. 

        “You’re done already?” Abraham cast her a meaningful look. “In the time us guys checked only the wall, you ladies think you’ve been in every closet, every room, every shed …”

        “Maybe”, the Latina cut him short, “you guys are too slow. As my grandma used to say: _Men wouldn’t find water in the Mississippi._ Which is probably why you had to check twice, while we girls know what we’re doing.”

        “Break!” Rick gave them the ‘time out’ gesture and stepped in between the two opponents before this argument was going to escalate. 

For the most part Rosita appeared as though she had made her peace with the fact that her ex was seeing Sasha now. But now and then situations like this showed crystal clear that having been dumped was still nagging deep down inside of her. It wasn’t entirely forgiven and most certainly not forgotten, although years had passed by now.   
_ Hell hath no fury than a woman scorned _ , as they said. And then maybe Rosita had loved Abraham more than he was willing to acknowledge.

        “Rosita”, the leader addressed the young woman, “are you sure every house has been searched?”

        “Yup. All, save for one.”

        “Which one?”

        “ _Yours_ , Mr. Dixon. Sorry to ask you that, but have you guys even looked into your own attic, basement, shed and garage yet?” 

Rick stared at the Latina flabbergasted, while turning a deeper shade of red.

        “Shit”, he just muttered, before turning on his heels and heading back home in a hurried pace.  


	3. Chapter 3

Daryl sat in front of the fireplace indian style and looked at the mug in his hand. 

When he had returned home after the church meeting, his heart had been beating frantically with the hope that Judith would be back when he walked through the door. He didn’t care if she was going to admit to breaking the crossbow or lie and deny it. Either way, they would work it out, as long as she’d just _be_ there.  
But his hopes had been shattered when he had walked into a quiet and empty home.   
Unable to just sit still, he had started to search the house, feeling like a fool that they hadn’t thought of that before. He had checked the second floor that morning, yes, but they entirely ignored the downstairs rooms and the basement after they had found the mess in the family room.   
Maybe Judith had been hiding in the laundry room or the broom closet, while they had turned the entire town upside down. They’d never hear the end of it, but Daryl couldn’t have cared less. He just wanted his daughter back.   
So he had taken a closer look at the second floor rooms again – Judith’s, Carl’s, Rick and his, the linen closet, the bathroom, even the attic, although it was impossible for her to be up there, since the only access was through a hatch in the ceiling.  
When he hadn’t found her up there he had proceeded on the first floor – family room, kitchen, laundry room, pantry, guest room and the small extra bathroom that was barely larger than a closet. He had even peeked into the fireplace, before checking the basement. Nothing. She wasn’t there. 

Deciding to wait for the results of the search throughout town, he had sat down in the middle of the chaos Judith had left and taken a closer look at his crossbow and the broken mug.   
Actually, it looked worse than it was. When the crossbow had hit the table one of the strings had snapped, but that was easy to repair. The only thing that actually broke was two of the spare bolts attached to the lower front of the weapon, and their breaking and splintering, along with parts of the wooden shafts chipping off must have shocked little Judith to no end. But it was just minor damage, no big deal.   
        The mug had shattered into about a dozen pieces when it hit the floor, unfortunately missing the soft carpet and landing on the tiled part right in front of the fireplace instead. Bad luck, but that damage as well could have been worse. The edges of the indiviual pieces were smooth and the mug had come apart in clean breaks, with no tiny shards or splinters, so putting it back together shouldn’t be too hard to accomplish.   
Daryl had several spare strings and they still had glue, which had the archer count his blessings.  
There were enough people out there looking for Judith – _everybody_ save for him, as a matter of fact, and he wanted to be here in case she came home. So he had best spend the time well by trying to repair his things. Not primarily to see them fixed, but to be able to show Judy that what she thought to be a catastrophy was in fact nothing.   
Either way, they would always be no more than _things._ They could be replaced or he would learn to live without them, simple as that. Even though resources were running low and the value of everything they still had was increasing incessantly, nothing would ever be more valuble than a beloved person.   
All the crossbows and mugs in the world could never replace his Li'l Asskicker, or Rick and Carl for that matter. He needed to make her understand that, had to tell her that a stupid accident like this wasn’t worth her tears and fear. As long as she was unharmed that was everything. 

 

When Rick entered his home, the silence inside was almost deafening.   
Usually this house was filled with the noise of little feet trampling up and down the stairs, while a young voice sang silly children’s songs totally off key, but with lots of vigor nevertheless.   
Someone always taught Judith new songs and Rick had wondered often enough, if that was because everybody knew how much Judith loved to sing despite her lack of talent, or if someone had a weird sense of humor and loved to see the Dixons tortured. If she wasn’t making her family’s ears bleed by singing, Judith would talk. Always and about everything, peppering her monologs with an infinite repertoire of questions.   
How many times had Rick prayed for silence, peace, quiet … _this_? It was true what they said – be careful what you wish for, because it might come true. Now that this house was in fact quiet, he hated it with a vengeance.  

        “Daryl?”

        “Family room”, came the reply almost instantly. 

Daryl got up from the spot where he’d been sitting and hopefully widened eyes looked at the leader the moment he walked in. When the archer noticed that Rick was alone his face fell.

        “Nothing?”

His voice was unusually high-pitched, and for a split second Rick couldn’t help wondering if this was what Daryl sounded like when he was close to panic. If so, he had apparently never been panicky as long as Rick had known him, because this inflection was entirely new to him.   
A thought that was both soothing and upsetting alike, for it meant there were not many things in this world able to make Daryl Dixon lose his cool, but their daughter going missing was obviously one of them. And although she’d only been gone for few hours, Daryl considered this reason enough to be alarmed. 

Rick shook his head to the older man’s question, while he let his eyes wander around aimlessly.

          “The wall’s been double-checked and there’s no way she coulda left without anyone noticing, but she hasn’t turned up anywhere else yet, either. They’re searching the buildings again. Did you check here?”

        “Sure. I ‘s even up in the attic ta be on the safe side, but she ain’t in the house.”

        “What about the garage?”

Daryl just looked at him silently for a moment, then he said darkly:

        “Don’t think she’d dare go in there.”

This brought a surprised frown to the younger man’s face.

        “Why not?”

        “’cause ma bike’s in there. Breaking ma stuff scared her enough ta go hidin’ in the first place. Ya think she’d dare go near another one a’ ma things, riskin’ ta do damage there, too, or bein’ accussed a’ touchin’ it when we find her, even though she didn’t?”

Rick looked at his husband quietly and swallowed hard. The way Daryl’s inflection had shifted from concerned to angry to sad in mere seconds was a clear indication that he was being pulled back into the past, into his own shitty childhood again, without being able to fight the influx of torturing emotions this caused.    
Just now he hadn’t really been talking about Judith. This was about little Daryl. About being afraid to be punished for things he had done, even though they’d been mere accidents, as well as things he had _not_ done. Apparently there hadn’t been a thing in the world Daryl could have done _at all,_ that would have spared him from getting beaten, taunted, despised or at best, ignored.    
How was anyone even able to live like that, grow up without any love at all and still turn into such a caring, gentle and sensitive soul? 

Clearing his voice, Rick took a step closer to Daryl, but stopped again the next moment. He had known the archer long enough to know when Daryl needed him close and when to best stay clear of him. Right now pity was the last thing the archer needed. In fact, Rick had best ignore altogether that he had noticed Daryl’s relapse into the past. 

        “I know what you mean”, he replied, “but we need to check nevertheless just to make sure. This is about the last spot where she could be that I can think of.”

Unexpectantly a thought had him hold his breath and frown for a moment, before he said cautiously:

“Don’t get me wrong, Daryl, but the crossbow, the mug with _your_ name on it … Is it possible … I mean, could it be that … that she did this on purpose? Did you maybe do anything to trigger all this?” 

Instantly the archer’s features darkened.

        “Like _what_?” 

His inflection was sharp as a knife and had Rick raise his hands defensively.

        “I said not to get me wrong. Whatever you’re thinking now sure as hell was not what I’ve been thinking of.”

        “Yeah? What _were_ ya thinkin’ of?” Daryl replied challengingly. 

        “Dunno. Maybe you braided her hair the wrong way or she didn’t like the way you read the Cat in the Hat to her last night. Whatever. Something like that.”

The older man’s eyebrows went up.

        “Yer shittin’ me, right? Ya really think she’d break ma stuff ‘cause a’ that? That’s bullshit, man. ‘sides, ain’t no one braidin’ the girl’s hair as cool as me, case ya haven’t noticed, and as for readin’ ta her … I didn’t. I ‘s teachin’ her.”

        “Teaching her what?”

        “Ta read! Man, she sure catches on faster than you do.”

Ignoring the teasing potshot, Rick cast his husband a surprised look. 

        “You’re teaching Judith how to read? Why?”

        “’cause the kid’s six years old and doesn’t know how yet, that’s why.”

        “No, I mean, why are _you_ teaching her? I thought Carol volunteered for reading lessons.”

        “She did, but …” Daryl broke off and bit his lower lip for a moment, before continuing softly: “I wanted ta do this maself.”

The younger man cocked his head and cast him another surprised look.

        “Why?”

        “’cause yer supposed ta teach yer kids stuff, Rick. I bet ya taught Carl lots of things, like playin’ baseball or soccer, ridin’ a bike or roller-skatin’, games, couple a’ songs maybe, how ta shave and shoot a gun.”

Rick nodded silently, wondering where this was headed.

        “See. ‘s important ta pass things on and I … well, I ain’t gonna teach Jude how ta shave, that’s for sure.”

Despite himself Rick broke out laughing, but composed himself quickly again when he noticed Daryl wasn’t joining in. 

        “I get it”, he said softly instead, “you wanted to teach Judith something. But why reading, when Carol had already started to …”

        “’cause I know how”, Daryl cut in. “Judy ain’t interested in socker or baseball and I can’t teach her how ta ride a bike or roller-skate. I don’t know how. No one ever bothered ta show me and I never even had a bike or roller skates. I don’t know any children’s songs or games or funny poems ‘n stuff. Only thing I could teach her is shootin’ the crossbow, huntin’, trackin’ and ridin’ a bike … motorbike, ya know, but ya keep sayin’ she’s too young for that.”

Rick swallowed thickly against a sudden raspy sensation in his throat.

        “She is”, he croaked.

        “And maybe yer right, but when she’s old enough … Dunno if I’m still gonna be around then.”

The younger man’s sight blurred instantly and he felt as though someone had just punched him in the guts without a warning. He gasped audibly while he tried to fight back the tears.  
          
“’m sorry”, Daryl said when he noticed a stray tear run down his partner’s cheek nevertheless. “Didn’t mean ta make ya cry. ‘s just, I …”

        “Shut it”, Rick teased softly, before pulling the archer into a tight embrace.

He didn’t know what to say. If there _was_ anything he could have said. Daryl was right after all – there were no guarantees, especially these days. And it touched him deeply to learn what _da’y_ had tried to do. Pass something on to their daughter that was more meaningful than a crossbow or a mug or any other _thing_ could possibly have been – knowledge.   
The memory of the time Daryl had spent with Judith, teaching her with patience and love one of the most important skills of all, would stay with their daughter forever and make him immortal as long as Judy remembered. 

        “I love you”, Rick whispered into his husband’s ear, before pulling back. 

He placed his hands to either side of Daryl’s face and kissed him gently. Then he said matter-of-factly: “I’m gonna go check the garage.” One of his thumbs ran tenderly over Daryl’s cheekbone once, before he turned around without any further word and headed out the glass door. 

        “Luv ya, too”, Daryl whispered back when Rick was long out of the door. 

 

Rick walked over to the garage with a violently beating heart, almost holding his breath as he reached for the handle of the side door.   
She had to be here! Assuming that the people of this town had done their job right and did look in every possible hiding place, this was about the last place Judith could be, save for the jungle of a backyard.   
He had been worried, yes – hell, he was her father, it was his _job_ to be worried – but so far this worry hadn’t been more than a nagging uneasiness deep down in the pit of his stomach. Calling that feeling ‘panicky’ would have been too much, but if he didn’t find Judith in here, either, this was likely to change any second now. 

Slowly he opened the door and walked into the twilight beyond. The only source of light was a small window to one side of the garage and it took a moment before Rick’s eyes had adjusted. The neon tube on the ceiling had died on them a few weeks ago and so far no one going on runs had been able to find a replacement. They probably wouldn’t, either.   
Neon tubes were one of the many things they would have to learn to live without and try to find some kind of replacement for. So far, they hadn’t really bothered to come up with an alternative and that neglect was now catching up to them. For the most part the room was dark, the few rays of light unable to reach into the corners at all.

“Judith?” He spoke as gentle and calm as he could. “Hey, sweetheart, are you in here?”

There was no reply. Naturally. What’s the sense in hiding, if one gave their hiding place away that easily? 

        “Judy, if you’re in here, please come out. No one’s angry with you, I promise.”

Still no answer.

        “We’re all worried. Everybody in town is looking for you …”

Rick broke off and cursed under his breath. That may have been a stupid thing to say. Judith was agitated already and to let her know, if she was in here at all, that she just caused even more trouble, was definitely little helpful.

        “Da’y would love to see you, you know.”

He listened into the darkness, straining his eyes to make out what was in the corners, but he didn’t see any movement and heard no sound.   
The backyard was the only place they hadn’t looked yet. It was their last option and Rick’s heartbeat picked up once again. What were they going to do, if she wasn’t there, either? Had they missed anything? Did she learn how to _climb_ the wall the way he knew Enid used to do? Was she hiding in a place no one had thought of, where it may be dangerous, like the inside of an oven or any kind of machine that might get turned on any second?   
His imagination was running wild suddenly and his fear almost choked him. The moment he was about to turn and hurry into the backyard to search for his daughter there, a sob in the far corner next to one of the shelves had him freeze. 

        “Judith?”

He approached the spot he had heard the sound from, once more straining his eyes and ears, and this time he was rewarded when he saw the shadow in the corner move, accompanied by another soft sob. 

Slowly he crouched down before the small figure who sat huddled in her hiding place, and waited for her to make the first move. It took a long moment, but then a small, tear filled voice asked:

        “Is da’y going away?” 

Rick’s eyes widened.

        “What? No. Why would he … no, of course not.”

        “But you were angry and yelled at him because of the crossbow. It was like when Mrs. Miller told Mr. Miller to leave, because he wasn’t good for their kids.”

Rick swallowed hard against the lump in his throat. Here they had thought Judith was hiding because she feared someone to be angry about her breaking the crossbow, but this ran much deeper. The poor little girl had been sitting here in the dark for hours, fearing for her family, worried that it was going to break apart and her beloved da’y would leave her.

In an impulse Rick held out his arms to his daughter, fighting back tears as he did so.

        “Judith, no one is going anywhere. Da’y and I had a little _discussion_ , that’s all. It’s what people do when they don’t agree on things, but that doesn’t mean we don’t love each other anymore. Daryl’s in the house, waiting for you.”

The next second a little curly-haired bundle flung itself into Rick’s arms, sobbing helplessly.

        “I broke da’y’s things, daddy.”

        “Uh-huh.”

        “Is da’y very mad at me?”

        “No.” He could feel the little girl gasped in surprise, not without a tinge of suspicion though. “Honestly, no.”

        “But he’s disappointed, ‘cause I didn’t listen and …”

        “Judy”, Rick cut her short, while he ran his hand soothingly over her unruly curls, “why don’t we go over to the house, so you can ask _him_ how he feels. I’m sure you’ve got something to tell him, don’t you?” 

        “Like what?”

This had a smile tug at the corners of Rick’s mouth.

        “You’ll think of something”, he replied, before placing a kiss on her forehead and getting back up. 

When he held out his hand she hesitated a moment, before slipping her own hand into his. Together they left the garage and headed for their home.

 

Lost in thought Daryl sat on the couch, waiting for Rick’s return while his eyes were firmly fixed on the white mugs on the mantelpiece.   
While everybody else had turned the entire town upside down, he had repaired the crossbow and the mug and had been rather successful. It had only taken him about ten minutes to apply a new string to his weapon and substitute the broken bolts. The mug however had been a challenge.   
It had taken him a lot longer to gather the shards, figure out how they belonged and then glue them back together piece by piece. After each applied part he had to hold it in place and wait until the glue had dried, before continuing. Sometimes he had been too hasty and the previously applied shard had broken off again, so that he had to start over. But Daryl had the patience of a saint, if he needed to.   
People were perfectly able to push all his buttons and have him go ballistic, he was well aware of that, but usually he was the calm and patient kind. The type of person who would spend hours in front of a jigsaw puzzle to put a couple of thousand pieces together, without ever considering this an unnerving waste of time. He had often wondered what it felt like to actually complete one of these puzzles.   
As a child he had tried a few times, since there hadn’t really been anything better to do – he didn’t have a bike or fancy toys, or friends to play with for that matter. No one wanted to hang out with a Dixon.   
But Dixons didn’t do jigsaw puzzles, either. That had been one of Merle’s one million Dixon rules.   
        _“Puzzles ‘s for pussies, man.”_  
Those had been his words each and every time, right before he had destroyed whatever Daryl had already managed to put together. And one day the puzzle had been gone entirely, had probably ended up in the trash, so to this very day Daryl had never completed one.   
The mug however _was_ completed. It was sitting in its spot again and from afar it wasn’t even visible that only few hours ago it had been broken. Daryl may not have been good with words, he didn’t have a good education and maybe he wasn’t even the sharpest tool in the box, but he was good with his hands.   
The thought that Rick would probably be the first to confirm that, brought the ghost of a smile to his face.  

The glass door to the backyard opening pulled him out of his thoughts and had him look up. Daryl’s heart skipped a beat when he saw Rick come in with Judith on his hand. He couldn’t help sighing in relief. Thank God, she was back safe and well.   
In the previous hours he had started to understand why people said that there was nothing worse than losing a child. Probably because it was true – there _was_ nothing worse.  
He would have loved to just pull the little girl into his arms now, but the way Judith was standing next to Rick with slumped shoulders and her head hanging, not daring to even look at him, had him stay put.   
Rick’s eyes wandered between Judith and his husband a few times, before he let go of the little hand that still held onto his crushingly and placed a tender kiss on the girl’s head.

        “It’s alright, munchkin”, he whispered to her, before nodding in Daryl’s direction. “Looks like here’s need for hot chocolate or something”, he commented while retreating to the kitchen. 

        “Yeah, or _something_ ”, he heard Daryl mutter behind him, which translated into _“Best make sure there’s some rum in ma chocolate”._ Or the other way round – some chocolate in his rum.

It was an open kitchen, so technically Rick was still in the same room, but the distance he had put between himself and the other two gave them a little bit of the privacy he felt they needed. Smiling to himself he started opening cabinets to make the promised chocolate. He wasn’t needed anywhere else.   
Daryl sat entirely motionless on the couch and just looked at Judith who seemed to have frozen. She still hadn’t dared look up, still just stood there looking a picture of misery. Her lips were pressed together to a thin line and her puffy eyes as well as the traces of tears on her reddened cheeks were a clear indication of how she felt.  
Daryl waited. Maybe she would have wanted him to say something or make the first move, but he couldn’t.   
How many times had he stood in the living room of Will Dixon’s house, a picture of misery just like little Judith now, and had hoped and prayed for his father to do just one thing – _not move._ Whatever had _happened_ again – be it that something get broken or mysteriously disappeared altogether – he would have loved to see that man stay on the filthy and worn couch like he did most of the day and just do what he usually did – ignore him.  
But that never happened. If something was broken or _gone,_ Daryl had always been the one to get blamed for it, whether he was responsible or not. And Will Dixon never let it pass, not once.   
While he seemed to be a part of that blasted couch for most of the day, those had been the moments when he had rediscovered his legs, had jumped up and stomped towards his young son with furiously blazing eyes, the arm already raised to slap him across the face as hard as he could. Sometimes he would grab Daryl and shake him till the joints in his shoulders and arms creaked and Daryl felt like his neck was likely to break any second. Countless times he had wished it would, so it was finally over.   
        Merle had stepped in once in a while and had taken the beating meant for Daryl, but those times didn’t compensate in the least for when it had been the other way around – for all the times when Merle had broken or stolen something and had just left, knowing only too well that his younger brother was likely to be punished in his stead.  
It was one thing to get beaten for something one had actually done. But it was something completely different to get punished for something that was on someone else, without being heard, without being given the chance to defend and justify oneself, because no one cared. The injustice had hurt even more than the actual beating – and the feeling of hopelessness, of being all alone in this without anyone even giving a damn. 

After several breathless moments Daryl still sat motionless on the couch, waiting. Judith was scared, for whatever reason, and he didn’t mean to scare her further by moving or saying the wrong thing. If she needed time, he would give her that time.   
Time however was not what little Judith was hoping for. All she was longing for was for da’y to get up and give her a hug, tell her he wasn’t disappointed or angry, that he still loved her and that everything would be alright the way daddy had promised. But da’y didn’t move. He didn’t want to touch her. He didn’t want to talk to her, either. He just sat there on the couch, kept his distance and ignored her as though she didn’t matter to him anymore.   
The next second tears welled in the girl’s eyes once more and started running down her cheeks silently. They did not go unnoticed.

        “Hey”, Daryl’s voice was soft and soothing, “ ‘s alright, Li’l Asskicker.”

Her little frantically beating heart skipped a beat. Li’l Asskicker. Would he still call her that, if he didn’t care anymore? Would he still talk to her _at all_?   
She dared lift her head after all and was met by equally blurry blue eyes and the ghost of a smile.

        “Never thought I’d ever break a girl’s heart”, he teased mildly, totally aware of the fact that she didn’t get the joke. 

That wasn’t important, thought. The mere fact that his inflection and the smile on his face indicated his words as a joke, was enough to have her calm down and stop the crying, which was all he had wanted to achieve.   
Daryl opened his arms and held them out invitingly, the way Rick had done before. 

        “Ya gonna gimme a hug, sweetheart?” 

Judith hesitated just a second, then she ran into his arms and buried her face in his neck the moment he’d lifted her onto his lap. 

        “I’m sorry, da’y!”

        “Sssh. Told ya, ‘s alright.”

        “But … but I was bad. I didn’t listen and touched the crossbow.”

        “I know.” He ran his hand soothingly over her back. “And I know ya didn’t mean ta break anything, so that ain’t bein’ bad. ’s bein’ curious. All kids are curious. ‘s important ta be, otherwise ya not gonna learn things.”

The little wheels in her head turning was almost palpable and it was quiet while she had to process the new information. Then she said:

        “So you’re not disappointed ‘cause I didn’t listen?”

Out of the corners of his eyes Daryl saw Rick open his mouth to cut in, so he raised one hand to have the younger man keep quiet. He knew Rick couldn’t help it. Being a leader, being in control, getting to decide and having his say was in his blood, but this just now was between Judith and Daryl and Rick should have learned to trust his man by now.  
And he did. As quickly as he had opened his mouth, it was closed again, while Rick gave Daryl a nod across the room. An _“I know you can handle it”_ nod. 

        “Judith”, Daryl pulled back a little to be able to look the girl in the eyes, “I ain’t disappointed, _but …_ ”, he put emphazis on the word so she knew there was more to come and that it was important. “But yer daddy and I, we had our reasons ta tell ya not ta touch the crossbow without us there. ‘s not ‘cause I don’t want ya ta touch ma stuff, ‘s ‘cause the crossbow is dangerous. Told ya it ain’t no toy and its bad end does do lots a’ damage. Today ya just shot a mug, but …”   
His voice became deeper, more serious, when he continued:  
        “What if someone had walked in when that bolt went off? Maybe Carl.”

Judith’s eyes widened in shock when she followed his train of thought.

        “We don’t want ya ta get hurt, or Carl, or anybody else. Ya get that?”

She nodded, her lips a thin line again.

        “I broke your mug, da’y”, she said in a choked voice. “And the crossbow.”

        “Ain’t important. Yer safe, yer here with us – that’s everything. Mugs ‘n’ crossbows ‘s just _things –_ they can be replaced. But cute little curly-haired halfpints like you”, he tickled her, which had her giggle despite herself, “they’re one of a kind.

He sobered up and pulled the child into a tight embrace.

        “We luv ya, Judy”, he whispered to her. “Don’t ever think any stupid stuff ‘s more important than you. Nothing is.” 

 

Over in the kitchen Rick felt a curious tickling sensation in the back of his throat and swallowed hard.   
Since the day Judith was born it had touched him to watch Daryl with the little girl. At first sigh no one would ever guess that this man was able to convey such an incredible amount of love, gentleness and patience, but around Judith, tough, grumpy, badass Daryl Dixon turned into a giant teddy bear. 

Only marginally aware, Rick noticed the front door opening and Carl walking in. 

        “Hey, dad, everybody’s still looking, but …”

His eyes fell onto the two people in the family room and his mouth gapped open.

        “You found her?” He tossed his hat onto the kitchen counter. “You do realize that there’s a couple of dozen people out there still searching …”

        “Sssh”, Rick cut him short. “Little exercise isn’t gonna hurt them”, he whispered to his son in order not to interupt the endearing scene in the family room. “After all, it was about time the wall and houses got thoroughly checked.”

        “Yeah, thanks a lot.”

A smirk spread over Rick’s handsome face when he noticed Carl’s pout.

        “Stop pouting, Carl. I’m gonna inform everybody in a bit, but first it’s hot chocolate time.” He winked at this son and pushed one of the mugs he had already filled with the steaming, dark brown brew over the counter. “Here.”

That said, Rick turned back to his daughter and husband and watched their exchange with a smile still playing around his lips.

A similar smile appeared on the teenager’s face, while he reached for the offered chocolate and watched his father out of the corner of his eye.  
There had been a time when his dad didn’t have too many reasons to smile and he hardly did anymore. His mom used to say that it was most definitely Rick’s smile she had fallen in love with first and although Carl was seeing things through different eyes, naturally, he liked to see his father smile, too.   
Leading a somewhat peaceful and quiet life ever since they defeated the Saviors, may have had something to do with the fact that Rick smiled a lot these days. But Carl couldn’t help the impression that this was just one minor aspect. His sister, the man hugging her right now and that ring on his dad’s finger would have made Rick smile just the same, even if they were still in the middle of a war. 

Over in the family room, Judith was speechless to the revelation that her da’y, daddy and Carl still loved her, although she had broken Daryl’s things and had kept the entire town busy searching for her. Did he really mean that or was he just being nice?

Before she could reply he pulled back and flashed her a smile.

        “Forgot ta tell ya – I repaired them. See?” He pointed to the now unloaded weapon that was sitting on the coffee table again. “Only thing that was broken ‘s a couple of ‘em bolts, so no big deal. Hadda replace one string and that ‘s that.”

        “But your mug …”

Daryl placed a quick kiss on Judith’s hair and then stood to take the mug off its place on the mantelpiece, before he sat on the floor in front of the fireplace. He made an inviting gesture for her to sit next to him. When she did, he held the mug out to her.

        “See. I put all ‘em pieces back together and now ya can barely tell anymore it was broken.”

Gently she had her small index finger trace the fine lines on the smooth, white surface, a thoughtful air on her face.

        “Now it’s really your mug, da’y.”

He cast her a surprised glance from the side. When she noticed, she added:

        “It’s like you now, see. It’s got scars, but you can’t really tell from a distance. Only when you look closely.”

It was deadly quiet in the room for a moment as the three men just stared at the girl speechless. 

        “Oh brother”, Carl muttered almost inaudibly and was nudged by Rick instantly. 

The leader looked over to the scene in the family room, wishing Daryl wasn’t sitting with his back to him so that he could see his face. For once he found it impossible to predict how the older man was going to react, how Judith’s words made him feel.   
He felt the urge to head over to them, but Carl shaking his head had him stay put.   
        The boy was right. Daryl was a grown man and didn’t need his husband to fight his battles – or demons of the past. It was about time he acknowledged that and let Daryl handle things his way. This family didn’t need a leader, just a man who was there when he was needed and stood back when he was not.

        “Yer right”, Daryl said in that moment, after pulling in a deep breath. 

He looked at the mug in his hand and had his own finger trace the thin lines. Unexpectedly he started to smile.

        “Yer right”, he repeated, before wrapping one arm around Judith’s small shoulders and pulling her close. 

The mug had been broken, but it was put back together – and so was he.  
It would never be the same again, never really whole and there would always be traces of what happened, but it was mented. It still existed and from a distance, no one would even notice the damage. Only those who were allowed to look closely and cared to do so would ever know and they didn’t mind in the least. It was still treasured and valued all the same despite its scars and it still had a meaning, just like before.   
As long as there were people putting the pieces back together, nothing could ever be destroyed entirely. 

        “Ya know, Judy, I think I like it even better now than before.”

        “Really?” Her eyes grew as large as saucers. “Want me to break anything else?”

        “No!”

Three voices replying simultaneously made the girl giggle and look from Daryl to Rick and Carl. 

        “That was funny”, she commented. “Can you do that again?”

        “Oh brother”, Carl said once more, before taking a sip from his chocolate.

        “Judy”, Rick addressed his daughter, “why don’t you drink your chocolate and then head over to the playground and let people see you, so the search is called off?”

        “Yay! Chocolate!” 

        “The magic word”, Daryl commented with a smile and got up to follow Judith over to the kitchen.

        “Carl, make sure everybody knows the search is over, please”, Rick said to his son. “I’ll be over there in a bit to thank them for their help.”

        “’kay”, the teenager replied with a grin, while quickly emptying his mug.

        “Where’s ma _something_?” Daryl said to Rick and a moment later took a hearty swig from the extended mug.

After a morning like _that_ , he sure was entitled to a nice mug of _something._ The next moment he coughed and almost spat the dark brown brew.

        “The hell’s that, man?” 

        “ _Something_ ”, Rick replied with a frown.

        “Nah, that’s _nothing_ , man. Sure ‘s hell ain’t _something._ ”

        “Carl, are dad and da’y talking about _things – again_?”

The teenager started to actually giggle, which had his two fathers cast him a suspicious glance.   
Rick took the mug out of his husband’s hand and took a sip, his eyes widening instantly. 

        “That’s just chocolate.”

        “’s like I said – ‘s nothing. So where the hell’s ma _something,_ man?”  
         
Rick frowned. Was he getting old or had he just been too distracted by Daryl and Judith? He could have sworn that he had poured a rather large amount of rum into one of the mugs when …

        “Judy, time to go”, Carl said in that moment, grinning like the Cheshire Cat.

He took the girl’s hand and together they headed to the door rather quickly. The second he was out on the front porch with his sister in tow, Rick’s voice reached him from inside.

        “Carl Dixon!”

They finally got it. Carl broke out laughing and started running, with Judith falling in beside him, laughing, too. She had no idea why, but there were enough reasons to laugh.   
One definitely was her being outside and allowed to go play while she was still in her PJs. And what was even better – Carl was playing with her, she didn’t have to leave town, da’y and daddy weren’t mad at her and she did get a huge mug of chocolate, although it wasn’t even her birthday. 

The moment Rick and Daryl appeared on the front porch, they saw Carl wave to them with a wide grin on his face.

        “Thanks for the _chocolate_!”

        “Ya best leave town, man, ‘fore I get ma hands on yer skinny li’l neck.” 

Carl laughing once again was the only answer Daryl got and it had a smile tug at the corners of the archer’s mouth. He must have done something right if his kids knew that words like those were only empty threats and their reaction to it was laughter instead of fear.

        “Sorry, Daryl”, Rick said next to him, shaking his head while he watched their children disappear down the street, “but I’m afraid we’re out of _something._ That was the last.”

        “Yeah, peachy. Thanks for _nothing_. Tell me again why people have kids, will ya?”

Judith’s voice, calling over to them from all the way down the street saved Rick his answer.

        “I love you, da’y! I love you, daddy! See you later!” 

With that she was gone. 

The two men exchanged a look and simultaneously started smiling.

        “Forget I asked”, Daryl said dryly, before leaning in and pressing a kiss on his husband’s mouth. 

Rick responded instantly and had his tongue trace Daryl’s lips while pulling him close.

        “Hm”, he muttered, “chocolate kisses. Sure you don’t care for more _nothing_?”

The archer pressed even closer to him and deeped the kiss instead of answering, stroking his fingers through Rick’s curls and nibbling and licking the other man’s lips in turn.   
He was thankful once again for the fact that this was the last house in their street, so there’d be no wolf whistles and ‘Get a room’ calls whenever _this_ happened.   
When they broke apart to catch their breath he gasped:

        “Keep yer _nothing_. There’s just one _thing_ ’m interested in right now, if ya catch ma meanin’.”

        “Don’t I always?” Rick replied with a grin. “Thought you were gonna go hunting”, he teased.

        “I did”, Daryl replied with a sparkle in his eyes. 

        “Uh-huh,” Rick’s lips almost touched the archer’s again. “Catch anything?”

        “Ya bet. Best _thing_ in the world”, Daryl said, right before he kissed his man ardently once more and every _thing_ else was forgotten.

\- The end -

**Author's Note:**

> I'll update tomorrow and the day after. Hope you like it so far! Thanks for reading and drop me a line, please. I so love comments!


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